Feds Spent Even More on PrEP Combo Than Previously Thought
The federal government may have contributed far more to the development of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) than previously estimated, researchers reported. While previous estimates said the federal government spent $50 million on the development of combination tenofovir/emtricitabine, or TDF/FTC (Truvada), it actually spent at least $143 million, according to a new estimate by Frazer Tessema, […]
HIV Prevention, Care Showed Resilience During the COVID Pandemic
Drops in HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) prescriptions early on in the pandemic quickly stabilized by the third quarter of 2020, according to a CDC report. The number of HIV tests performed nationally exceeded 2.4 million in the first quarter of 2020 and was reduced by 32% in the second quarter — with the […]
Methenamine Hippurate Could Be Alternative Treatment for Recurrent UTI
The urinary antiseptic methenamine hippurate (Hiprex) was non-inferior to antibiotic prophylaxis in women with a history of recurrent urinary tract infections (UTI), according to results from the ALTAR trial. Over the course of 12 months, the incidence of antibiotic-treated UTI was 0.89 and 1.38 episodes per year in patients treated with prophylactic antibiotics or methenamine […]
Antibiotics Slow Down Latent Rheumatic Heart Disease in Kids
Antibiotic prophylaxis for screen-detected latent rheumatic heart disease reduced progression of disease in children, the GOAL trial showed. Echocardiographic progression was reduced to 0.8% at 2 years compared with 8.2% with no prophylaxis (P<0.001), reported Andrea Beaton, MD, of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, at the American Heart Association virtual meeting. The findings were simultaneously […]
COVID Prevention Tx Safe, Shows Efficacy in High-Risk Groups
A monoclonal antibody cocktail designed for COVID-19 pre-exposure prophylaxis was safe, and appeared to be effective across populations at risk of severe COVID and who may have a subpar response to vaccination, a researcher said. AZD7442 (tixagevimab/cilgavimab) met its primary endpoint, reducing the risk of symptomatic COVID-19 among high-risk populations by 77% (95% CI 46%-90%), […]
Long-Acting Injectable for HIV Prevention Passes Hurdles, but Barriers Remain
Long-acting injectable HIV prevention with cabotegravir was superior to daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate-emtricitabine (TDF/FTC; Truvada) in men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women, a randomized trial found. Among more than 4,500 participants in the phase IIb/III trial, 13 incident infections occurred in the cabotegravir group compared with […]
Drug Resistance in People on PrEP Who Acquire HIV
While a small subset of individuals acquired HIV despite being in a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) program, many of those people had mutations resistant to antiretroviral drugs, according to a study from the Global Evaluation of Microbicide Sensitivity (GEMS) project. Breakthrough HIV infections occurred in 204 individuals in GEMS, out of more than 104,000 people in […]